Authors note: This is my first foray into public writing. I hope you enjoy the story and I welcome constructive feedback.
The Princess and the Pea
Have you ever wondered How did I get here? I'm sitting in a garden of the palace pondering this very question. My life has gone from simple, to complex, to unbelievable, to fairy tale. This is my story.
When I was born Mama said I was the sweetest baby ever to grace her presence. That's saying something considering I had 4 older siblings. She said I was happy, content, and adorable. Our home was comfortable, but not extravagant. We always had enough to eat and clean clothes to wear. I toddled around after my brothers and sister, getting into their things and generally making a nuisance of myself. Eventually, I grew up into a self-sufficient young woman of 18. I could cook, clean, sew, chop firewood, and mend a broken cart axle. I thought I could make my way in the wide world on my own. I just never thought I would have to.
The winter of my 19th year brought a plague upon our happy home. My three elder brothers had left home for adventures and we hadn't heard from them in quite some time. My sister and I were busy tidying the garden for winter when she collapsed in a faint. I ran for a manservant to carry her inside. She fell into a fevered sleep from which she never woke. Mama nursed her, and I think that may be the reason she succumbed to the illness next. Of course, Papa was panicked by this time and wouldn't even let me into the house. He made me live in a barn in the farthest corner of our lands, far beyond sight of our home. I had enough food to last for two weeks, and I was under strict command to stay put. Someone would come fetch me when the plague had run its course.
To an active mind like mine, two weeks of confinement was pure torture. I imagined the entire land being wiped out and myself the only survivor for miles around. I felt as if I were as far away as the stars from all that I loved and held dear to my heart. To keep myself from these dismal thoughts I took walks in the woods nearby and tried to work out a more efficient layout for our garden the next spring. I designed dresses and machines in my head. I recited as much poetry as I could remember, and made up a great deal more of my own.
After two weeks I began to climb to the roof of the barn to watch for the awaited messenger. After three weeks I realized that perhaps no one would come for me. I feared the worst as I made my way back to my home. The front door stood ajar, as if someone had simply walked away from it, intending to return soon. The chickens were loose in the remains of the garden my sister and I had worked in together just one month before. As I walked into my home I knew my world was shattered. The rooms echoed in their stillness. I went into the rear yard and saw fresh mounds of dirt with hasty grave markers. Daphne, Mama, and Papa - all gone. A note was pegged to the doorframe in the kitchen.
Addie-
My sweet girl, I'm sorry I never got to say goodbye to you. It comes so quickly. The servants are infected as well, so I couldn't send word to you, but I knew you'd come looking. You'll have to be brave, Dear One. Perhaps your brothers are nearby and you can find them. Do not linger here, the plague may still be present. Remember, you are my little princess, always. Live your life the way it is meant to be lived and never think you are alone, your mother and I will be looking down on you. Look under the hearthstone for your inheritance.
Yours Forever,
Papa
I don't know how long I sat there, on the floor of the kitchen. I wept for my family, and the lifetime of memories I would no longer be able to have with them. I realized with a sickening jolt that I had been set adrift in a world I had always been sheltered from. Yes, I knew things, but I'd never had to depend on myself for my survival. Papa was optimistic when he said my brothers might be near. They had spread themselves to the four winds in search of love and adventure. I didn't even know which way to go in search of them.
When I could no longer cry, I began to think. I thought of Papa's last words. I walked over to our kitchen hearth, which had only ever been cold during the hottest days of the summer, when we did our cooking outdoors. There were ashes; cold, dead ashes piled high. Mama always liked a tidy kitchen. I found myself desperately sweeping the piles up, determined to make it clean for her, although she would never see it. In the far back corner there was a brick without mortar. With eyes blurred by fresh tears and hands covered with soot, I pried it up and looked into the hollow beneath it.
A small metal box with a solid lock on it was all that was contained in the space. I had never seen it before. I had no idea where to look for the key. I spent the rest of the day combing over every inch of my family home. I looked behind every book in Papa's study. I looked through all my mother's jewelry boxes and closets. I paused often to recall scenes from my childhood. It was too much sorrow for me to bear, so I closed it off. I made my mind focus on the key and told myself I could mourn in time. I searched attics and basements and everywhere between. There was no key.
After hours of fruitless labor, I finally sat down in dejected silence in the kitchen once more. I listlessly turned the small metal box around and around in my hands. I suddenly noticed faint writing etched into the decoration along the side. Some of the words had faded, but I managed to decipher ...King of Lyon shall…. retain this symbol of….key shall be…. court of Justices…at any time….reinstated with certain proof...
Lyon was a kingdom to the east. It was my only clue to solving the mystery of my inheritance. I had to get to the capital city of Denbar, andthere find this "court of Justices". But I had no money except what I'd found during my search for the key. It wasn't much. As I began my journey, it was anguish to take those first steps away from where my life had been, where my loved ones would forever remain. I finally told myself I couldn't look back at the house any more. So I walked, and it began to rain.